


A Moment Apart

by royalchttphn



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, Its Just Really Soft, Kinda, Kisses, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Singer AU, Singer Richie Tozier, inspired by eugene lee yang, richie makes a music video, soft, very minor angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 17:51:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20643254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royalchttphn/pseuds/royalchttphn
Summary: Richie isn't letting Eddie listen to his new song. He also isn't letting Eddie visit him on set for the music video. He also has been coming home late for the past two weeks.





	A Moment Apart

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I rewatched Eugene's coming out video and felt such intense emotion all over again. I wanted to make one for Richie. Here's the link. Go watch it.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpipLfMiaYU
> 
> Also I hope this doesn't suck

It’s one-thirty-ish in the morning when the door to the apartment creaks slowly open, Richie trying to be as quiet as possible. At this point, Eddie is already in bed and would be sent off into a cranky tirade if he happened to be woken up. Richie lets the door shut with a soft click, toes off his shoes in the middle of the hallway, and sets his bag down with a louder clunk on the floor than he intends. He bristles at the noise and waits with bated breath for the light to click on in the bedroom at the end of the hall. When nothing happens, Richie chuckles lightly and makes his way into the kitchen.

There he finds Eddie, slumped in his chair with his freckled cheek pressed into his folded arms. His breathing is steady and, even with only the faint glimmer of moonlight seeping in through the blinds to light his face, Richie notices the downwards curve of his mouth. Richie’s mouth quirks in the opposite direction, as he is wont to do when greeted with the sight of his boyfriend’s face, and he takes quiet steps towards the sleeping man.

“Eddie, baby,” Richie whispers into Eddie’s ear, shaking his shoulders lightly. “C’mon, let’s get you into bed, huh?”

At first, Eddie doesn’t move; when Richie shakes his shoulders again, he grumbles and pushes himself into a sitting position, back still slouched, and presses his face into Richie’s chest. “You’re home,” he mumbles. “Where were you?”

“Work, hon.” Richie takes Eddie’s head in his hands and tilts his face back enough to press a chaste kiss against his lips. “You wanna get into bed? It’s much more comfortable than sleeping on the counter.”

Eddie squeezes his eyes shut and then opened them wide, officially waking himself up, and blinks owlishly for a moment at Richie. Something in Richie’s chest seizes and Richie fights the urge to coo down at Eddie. Instead, he kisses him again. Eddie twists his head to look at the kitchen clock and sighs.

“You’re home late, Rich. _Again_.”

Richie drops his hands from Eddie’s face and gives a sigh of his own. “I know, baby, and I’m really sorry. I was finishing something up at the studio.”

Eddie cocks an eyebrow, obviously waiting for more of an explanation. Richie doesn’t have one for him - at least, not one he could tell Eddie. Not yet, anyway. When Eddie realizes Richie has nothing more to say, he huffs and looks away.

“So that’s the end of it, yeah? You just get to come home late for the past - what? - two weeks and I’m supposed to just sit here waiting with nothing more than a text, if that?”

“Eds, I--” 

“What are you working on that’s so important? Or--” And here Eddie stops himself, taking a deep breath, and Richie realizes suddenly that Eddie is trying not to cry. “Or... _who_ are you working with that’s so important?”

Whatever Richie is entertaining the idea of responding with dies on his tongue. Instead he stands stock still, gaping at Eddie as if Eddie had just shot him point blank. He stands frozen for what feels like an eternity, just staring at Eddie, before Eddie’s weak sniffles bring him back into motion.

“Eds-- Eddie, _baby_, look at me.”

Eddie turns his face towards Richie, but his eyes are shut, his eyelashes stuck together with unshed tears. Richie’s shaking hands make their way back up to Eddie’s face, holding his cheeks so tenderly, as if Eddie is about to break.

“Eddie Kaspbrak, I would _never_. I love you so much, I could never ever even think of-- of doing that to you. I swear to whatever god exists that I would never,” Richie whispers fiercely, and then presses his forehead to Eddie’s. For a long moment, Richie keeps himself pressed to Eddie. When he moves to pull back, Eddie’s slender fingers wrap themselves around Richie’s wrist; he then pulls Richie’s palms to his mouth, where he places two gentle kisses.

“Okay,” he whispers. “I’m sorry. Let’s just go to bed.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Richie pulls Eddie into a standing position and, fingers intertwined, the pair make their way to the bedroom. Eddie, already in pajamas, collapses onto the bed and Richie, not bothering to change into pajamas, collapses in right after him. It takes mere moments for the two to become tangled up - in the bedsheets and in each other - and only a few more before falling asleep.

\-----

When Eddie wakes up, it’s with Richie’s arms twined around his middle. He spends a couple moments playing with Richie’s fingers. Then, like any technology-obsessed young adult, he reaches for his phone.

The first thing he notices is the YouTube notification:

_Trashmouth Tozier has posted a new video_.

Bleary eyed, he swipes open the notification. When the video loads, he takes in a sharp breath at the title.

_I’m Gay_.

The soft music fills the room and Richie snuggles in closer to him. Eddie doesn’t notice, too transfixed on the video.

_Red_. Richie is seen among a group of other people sitting on a carpet, a school-like setting surrounding them. The group, who Eddie realizes are all meant to symbolize children, are playing a game of house. Eddie watches as the boys and girls take turns playing the mom and dad and children and then watches as Richie tries to grab the hand of another boy to play as the mom - and then is yelled at by the teacher and pushed to the ground by the boy previously holding his hand.

_Orange_. Richie is dancing among a group of men and women dressed in varying shades of black, white, and gray, but is dancing much more freely and excitedly and passionately. It doesn’t take long for a man - Eddie briefly registers that he’s a priest - to appear beside Richie and force his shoulders back, his arms down, and Richie into a seat in the pew. A bewildered Richie looks around, his eyes asking what he did wrong.

_Yellow_. Richie is dancing with a girl in grey, a beautiful, intricate thing that Eddie had no idea Richie knew how to do. They twirl and lift and spin and then Richie spots a boy dressed in yellow just like Richie, and he leaves her to go dance with the boy. A boy who, Eddie realizes with a shock, bears a striking resemblance to himself. They continue with the intricate dance, the girl dancing after them. Finally, she dances close enough to hug Richie and depart, leaving him to dance with the boy.

_Green_. Richie is at what is so obviously a high school party. He enters by walking down the stairs, greeting other people dressed in greens and whites and blacks and finally enters the dance floor, where he dances, carefree, with the boy he saw in yellow. Everyone stops dancing save for Richie and the boy, and the people in white turn and point. The boy eventually stops Richie’s dancing, fearfully looking around, and Richie pulls the boy behind him as the people in white close in.

_Blue_. Richie is surrounded by people in white, being punched and kicked and shouted at. It goes on long enough to bring tears to Eddie’s eyes. Finally they people in white depart, and in rush in a group of people - six in black, six in white. The six in black (_the Losers Club_, Eddie’s brain supplies, and then notices he’s among them as well), try to help Richie up, but the six in white fight to keep Richie down, and eventually the group fights their way off-camera to leave Richie pulling himself along the floor, bloodied and beaten,

_Purple_. The camera is focused on Richie in an extravagant ensemble. As Richie walks forward, he pushes through hoards of people in black, white, and gray, all arguments and shoves and hostility. Richie perseveres. When he makes it to the front, he merely stands, and Eddie can tell that he’s trying not to cry. He supposes that’s the point.

_Fade to black_. The words “Dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ Community” fade onto the screen and then back away. Just when Eddie thinks the video is over, he sees more words. “And Eddie.”

Eddie lets out a sob and covers his mouth so as not to wake Richie.

Apparently, he didn’t have to bother.

“Did you like the video?” Richie asks, meek where his face is pressed against Eddie’s neck.

Eddie turns over and launches himself into a hug with Richie, letting his tears spill onto Richie’s chest. Eddie’s pretty sure he feels a few tears escape into his own hair, but he doesn’t mention it.

“It was beautiful.” Eddie pulls back, the blindingly proud smile on his face so infectious that Richie can’t help but smile back. “Is this what you’ve been coming home late for?”

Richie ducks his head. “Yea.”

“I’m so proud of you!” Eddie whispers, and Richie looks up again. “I mean, I knew you wanted to come out eventually, but I had no idea you’d be so over-the-top about it.” Eddie smiles. “Then again, when has Trashmouth Tozier ever shied away from anything?”

Eddie pauses a beat, watches as the blush fills out on Richie’s cheeks.

“I love you, Richie.”

“Love you, too.”


End file.
